October Potpourri

My mind is rambling all over the place as this weekend begins, so here’s a mix of news and random thoughts, in no particular order:

1. It rained all day; perhaps this is the end of the drought we’ve had since the beginning of summer. This rain would have been more useful if it had come with Hurricane Ike last month, but better late than never. We had a peculiar situation this morning, when the radio was warning commuters to watch out for both slick roads and smoke from forest fires that hadn’t gone out yet.

Apparently the drought is to blame for the lack of fall color this season. Though October is 3/4 over, most of the trees I see outside are still either green or brown. We definitely got a better show in 2006, and even in 2007.

2. I also heard a news report that claimed women who drink three cups or more of coffee every day can make their breasts smaller. So don’t be surprised if a future commercial has this jingle:

3. Last month I followed China’s third manned space mission. Now, earlier this week, India launched its first moon rocket, taking an assortment of scientific instruments into lunar orbit. It was touch and go for a while, due to a thunderstorm at the launch site, but the Indians got it up, so now there’s talk of a new race to the moon, this time between India and China, instead of the USA and USSR. I think I’ll tell the Indians the same thing that I felt when the Chinese put their first man in space: “Now that you are here, I hope we can still be friends.”

4. How about them Devil-Rays? The major league baseball team closest to my former home has made it to the World Series! Read my entry from February 1, 2008, to see what we used to say about their home stadium, Tropicana Field. So far both teams, the Tampa Bay Devil-Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies, have each won a game. But while Tampa is new to the finals, Philadelphia is definitely the hungrier city; Philadelphia sports fans haven’t seen any of their home teams win a championship since the 76ers won the NBA finals in 1983. By contrast, Tampa had the champion football team in 2003 (the Buccaneers), and the champion hockey team in 2004-2005 (the Lightning).